My favorite magazine in the whole wide world is Real Simple. I let my subscription lapse for a while and I was actually sad about it, like I’d broken up with someone for no reason at all. So finally I decided to get it going again and for the last few weeks I’ve been all excited about its return to my mailbox. And then last week it finally arrived and I immediately read it from cover to cover. Yay, Real Simple.
This month’s issue had an article about organizing and cleaning up clutter in your life, and the author of the article said that she challenged all of her clients to find fifty things to throw away. Magazines and catalogs only counted as one thing, and you were not limited to physical clutter. You could add mental clutter to the list.
This was one of those articles that seemed completely fine but not life-changing as I read it, but over the last few days I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot as I go about my day-to-day business. And, slowly but surely, I’m starting to throw some things out.
I’m not a terrible pack rat but I do tend to hold on to some things and feelings long past their usefulness. So I’m letting some things go. I started with some old magazines and catalogs. Those were easy to toss out. And then I threw away some stuff in the bathroom – old makeup I’ve been keeping because it was expensive, for example. Also easy. I’ll never use it again anyway.
It’s been a little harder to let go of some mental things – some old betrayals and embarrassments I’ve been hoarding, some weird things about relationships that I haven’t cleaned up because they’re safe and comfortable – but I’m working on those.
I like the concept. I like the way I’m feeling. I like how this is happening gradually, almost organically. I should maybe keep a paper list so I know when I get to 50 and don’t shortchange myself.
